The Nerd With The Notebook
by GeminiEarthDragon
Summary: While hunting a ghost in Piedmont California, Dani finds herself with a pretty unconventional stalker... which leads to a truly wild adventure.
1. The Nerd with The Notebook

**Nerd With The Notebook**

He was following her again.

Dani bit back a frustrated groan when she saw him dive behind a bush in an attempt to hide himself. This was the eighth time he managed to track her down in two days. He was getting faster at finding her, too. It only took him twenty minutes to get back on her trail this time.

_Maybe I should just leave._ Dani mused to herself. That idea didn't sit very well with her though. Not with a dangerous ghost on the loose. She might not have been a superhero like her cousin, but Dani wasn't heartless enough to abandon innocent people in order to save herself from exposure.

Besides, annoying as the weirdo stalking her was, he hadn't done anything to threaten or harass her so far. He clearly saw her transform to fight the ghost that had been trying to kill him, but it didn't appear that he had told the cops about their encounter. Or worse, the media. Dani had managed to keep her existence a secret from the general public for close to six years now, and she was aiming for lucky number seven. So far there hadn't been anything more concrete than vague rumors about a female half-ghost, which was exactly how Dani liked it.

Still, being followed made her nervous, even if she could probably take the guy down with one hand tied behind her back. Obviously her disappearing trick wasn't enough to get her point across, so maybe it was time to face her little problem with a little more force.

Casually as could be, Dani turned off of the sidewalk and headed into an alleyway to her right. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her shadow pick up speed, knowing all too well what would happen next. Dani was faster though, going invisible long before the boy turned the corner to follow her. Unlike the last few times though, Dani didn't slip away unseen to find a quiet place to become visible again. Instead she waited silently as the boy unknowingly passed her to make his way deeper into the alley.

"Great." He sighed grumpily, running a hand through curly brown hair as he studied the wall in front of him, oblivious to Dani taking solid form behind him. "Just great. Now I have to try to track her down again before dinner..."

The boy was obviously not expecting to find his prey standing right behind him when he turned back around, but Dani found it hard to feel sorry for him as she sent him sprawling on his back with an expertly executed leg sweep. Quick as a cobra, Dani pounced on the taller teen, planting a knee into his chest and slapping a hand over his mouth to muffle his surprised scream as her other hand came up to grip his throat, not hard enough to cut off his breathing, but enough that he felt the pressure of her hand on his windpipe.

"I'll give you points for persistence, but you must be thick as a brick wall if you haven't figured out by now that I don't want you following me." Dani told him conversationally. She began to move her knee off of his chest, when she felt something hard and flat hidden underneath his vest. Frowning suspiciously, Dani removed her hand from her stalker's mouth to investigate.

"Look, I think there's been a misunderstanding here." The boy said, a hint of nervousness in his tone as he watched Dani carefully, "I just wanted to thank you for- H-HEY!" Dani ignored the boy's startled yelp as she stuck her hand down his vest, digging until she found the object she had felt earlier. Pulling it out, Dani's eyes narrowed at the sight of a leather bound journal with a symbol of a pine tree embossed on the front and a roman numeral II beneath it. As the boy beneath her went deathly still, Dani thumbed the journal open to the page that had been bookmarked with a pen, scowling at what she found.

"Really?" Dani said, flipping the book around to show the page to the boy beneath her, which was titled _Anomaly #382- The Ghost Girl_.

"…Okay, so I know this looks pretty bad-"

"Stalking usually does."

"-but I swear I'm not gonna try and hurt you or anything. I just wanted to study you."

"Two things. Number One; you couldn't hurt me even if you tried. And Number Two; if you want something to study, then go to a library because I'm nobody's lab rat."

"Okay okay, so maybe following you around watching you wasn't the smartest thing to do, but I had no idea there were other half ghosts besides Danny Phantom and Vlad Masters, and I never thought I'd get the chance to meet one in person, and I guess I just got a little carried away and-"

"How'd you keep tracking me down, anyways?" Dani asked, part of her irritation ebbing away in favor of honest confusion at that. She wasn't used to people sticking to her so persistently other than Vlad, and something told her that the boy beneath her didn't have a disposable income and ghost powers in order to make himself such a pain.

"I have an app on my phone that finds cold spots." The boy admitted sheepishly. "And a guy I know made me a bunch of detector things that I can put at any point within a ten mile radius. They react when someone with a body temperature under 90° passes by and I get a text with the location."

Clever. Dani knew her body temperature was only about 62° or something, which was unusually warm for a ghost and in the range of stone cold dead for the average human. She also knew that this wasn't information most people were privy to, and only a very select group of people would think to track a ghost that way.

"You're a ghost hunter." Dani realized, studying the boy a little closer. He didn't look the type, but those who were passionate about the paranormal were usually pretty eccentric. Danny's parents were a good example of that.

"I prefer the term Paranormal Investigator, actually." The boy confessed. "It's a little more accurate, since I don't really hunt anything unless it tries to kill me first. I prefer to just observe and record, really."

"Hence the 'studying?'" Dani questioned, motioning to the journal once more with a raised eyebrow.

"Unlocking the secrets of the supernatural is my lifelong passion." The boy admitted, glancing anxiously from Dani to the notebook. "Can I have that back now? I keep all my notes in there, and I really don't want to lose them."

"That's funny, because _I_ really don't want a weirdo following me around writing creepy stuff about me in his journal." Dani responded flatly. "I have half a mind to destroy this thing, you know. Danny might be fine living in a media circus, but I happen to like having a private life and no dweeby stalker is gonna spoil that for me." Dani emphasized her point by making her hand glow green with ectoplasmic energy, earning a panicked flinch from the boy.

"I guess it does sound pretty bad when you put it that way." He said anxiously. "But I swear my research is just for the sake of personal curiosity! I wasn't going to publish anything to the public!" Dani rolled her eyes at that. Like she was really going to buy that load of crap. "I haven't even really found that much out yet! Read it, you'll see for yourself! Besides, if you're really worried about the press, then I have a video that's going to be a bigger problem for you than anything in that journal." Dani felt her heart stutter to a stop at that.

_Oh, Butter Biscuits. _

"What. Video?" Dani asked, her tone low and dangerous as her grip on the boy's throat tightened in a silent threat.

"I caught some footage of you the other night, when you were fighting that ghost." The boy said cautiously. "It has you transforming and everything. I only have one copy, and just me and my sister know about it. I've had it for two days now and I haven't shown it to anyone else, but if you destroy my journal I swear I'll send it straight to the news station."

"And how do I know you still won't do that after I give you your stupid book back, huh?" Dani asked skeptically. "How do I even know it exists, and you're not just making all this up?"

"I'll show it to you." The boy promised. "Give me back the journal, and I'll show you the video and you can erase it or whatever. I really don't care about the video, all I want are my notes." Dani frowned suspiciously at that, weighing her options. If he really had video evidence of her transformation (and with her luck, he probably did), that would be a lot more damaging then his stupid diary. But the idea of the weirdo writing about her still didn't sit very well with her.

Considering her choices carefully, Dani released her hold on the boy and stood up, waiting impatiently as he hesitated for a moment before doing the same.

"There's a diner just around the corner." Dani said, motioning to the mouth of the alleyway with her free hand. "We'll grab a bite there and I'll make sure you're not writing anything weird about me. Then I'll decide if you get this back or not." Dani debated on telling him that he'd be paying for her food, as retribution for his stalking, but figured it'd be more fun to surprise him with the bill after eating. He deserved it anyways, if he really thought he could blackmail her like this.

"Deal." The boy said, looking visibly relieved. "I'll erase the video right after I get my journal back." So he had it on him, then? Dani filed that fact away in case the boy tried anything funny. Turning, Dani led the way back to the main streets, the boy quickly falling into step beside her. "I'm Dipper, by the way. Dipper Pines. And you are…?"

"You're worst nightmare, if you blow my secret." Dani replied sweetly.

"I doubt that." The boy (Seriously? Dipper? Weird name for a weird boy, she guessed) chuckled with a grin. "Most of my nightmares involve triangles in top hats, not superhuman mystery girls." It took Dani a second to process that, and she couldn't help but shoot him a confused look once it sank in. Dipper didn't seem to notice though, too busy texting someone on his phone. Shaking her head, Dani forced back a smile as she turned her attention back to the path before her.

If nothing else, this would probably end up being one of the most interesting lunch dates she ever had.


	2. The Girl with the Ghost Powers

**The Girl with the Ghost Powers**

Dipper wasn't a fighter. Oh sure, he'd defend himself or the ones he loved if he really had to, but he only ever resorted to violence only after all attempts at reason had failed. And right now, he was seriously hoping that his luck held out and things didn't turn violent because if this girl had half the powers that Danny Phantom and Vlad Masters did, he was _seriously_ screwed.

And from what he saw the night he was saved by her, it was probably safe to assume she was at least as powerful as the Supernatural Superhero of Amity Park and the missing billionaire who tried to take over the world.

Still… what kind of Paranormal Investigator would he be if he didn't try to learn more about half ghosts when he had the chance?

Admittedly he probably took it a little too far, but come on! She was a half ghost! Those were like, the top of the top as far as paranormal science was concerned, and even after all these years there was only so little the public actually knew about them. Sure, people had known Danny Phantom's civilian identity for years now, but they still didn't know how he or Vlad Masters had come by their powers, or the limits of their abilities, or basically anything really. On some level, Dipper understood why the discretion was necessary, but his personal curiosity wasn't quelled so easily. So when he had the chance to observe a half ghost in action, he took it. Even with the voice in the back of his head screaming 'DANGER WILL ROBINSON' the whole entire time. In retrospect though, it was actually a little surprising she waited two whole days before confronting him. He'd been expecting her to act much sooner.

_It's probably safe to take that as a sign she doesn't really want to kill me_. Dipper thought optimistically as he followed the dark haired girl through the diner to a corner booth, distanced enough from the other customers that they could talk without being disturbed or overheard and tucked away where prying eyes couldn't watch.

Dipper felt equal parts terrified and excited as he took a seat across from her.

"So what can I get you two today?" A chipper blonde teen asked with a smile as she brought them their menus. Dipper vaguely recognized her from high school, but couldn't place a name to the face.

"A burger and fries with a coke, and some apple pie for dessert, please." The half ghost ordered with a polite smile, not even looking at her menu. It was pretty obvious that she was impatient for the girl to leave so they could have some privacy. Dipper couldn't really blame her for that, since he had a lot he wanted to talk to her about too, but he was pretty sure the blonde got the wrong impression if the curious glance she gave the two of them was anything to go by. She was probably wondering what an attractive blue-eyed girl was doing with the nerd who skipped the eighth grade.

"Uh, same I guess." Dipper said, squirming a little as his face went red. The blonde's eyebrow raised minutely as she jotted their orders down on her pad before flashing them a smile.

"I'll be right back with your orders!" She promised cheerfully before heading away to the kitchen.

"Friend of yours or something?" The half ghost asked, ask she watched the waitress slip away, obviously reading their body language and noticing that they seemed to know one another.

"Or something." Dipper answered dryly. Dipper didn't have many friends, other than the Mystery Shack gang and his twin. He never really connected with the other kids in school, especially after they bumped him up a grade which had him basically ostracized by both kids his own age and the ones in his class.

But this wasn't exactly something he was eager to get into with a girl who had superpowers.

"So what are you doing all the way over here in Piedmont?" Dipper asked instead as a change of subject. "I mean, Amity Park is practically on the other side of the country."

"Any who ever said I was from Amity Park?" the girl scoffed as she flipped open his journal. "I'm from Colorado, originally. Been moving around a lot the past few years, though." Dipper felt a little surprised at that. Of course, he hadn't really known if she was from Amity Park or not, but she was half-ghost and she made allusions to knowing Danny Phantom (At least, that's what Dipper got from her comment about the other half ghost dealing with the media) so he figured it was a good guess if nothing else. More surprising, though, was the fact that she volunteered this information at all. The way she made such a big deal out of him following her around, Dipper was sure she'd try and withhold as much information about herself as possible.

Granted, knowing that she was from Colorado didn't really tell him much, other than the fact that she probably _wasn't_ connected with Danny Phantom or Vlad Masters after all since they hailed from Amity Park and Wisconsin respectively. Then again, Masters WAS a billionaire, so maybe she could still have a connection with him even in spite of the distance? But she spoke like she was on good terms with Danny Phantom, somehow Dipper doubted that would be the case if she was working for or with his biggest enemy.

…He was overthinking things again, wasn't he?

"Okay, this is officially the creepiest thing I've ever read." The girl said dryly as she scanned the first page of notes he'd written up on her. "You seriously clocked my average walking speed?"

"I wanted to try and get a feel for your physical abilities as a human, and see if your ghost powers affected them at all." Dipper responded a tad defensively. "And I already told you I didn't have much."

"What about this part at the bottom? It's in code." The girl pointed out, tapping to a few lines at the bottom if the page. Dipper felt himself turning red at that.

"That's… that's nothing." He said, sinking into his chair a little and hoping against hope that she let the subject go.

"It wouldn't be coded if it was nothing." The ghost girl said with a glare. "My father was a scientist, and I know full well that codes are used to hide sensitive information from anyone who'd want to steal it." Her dad was a scientist? Well that was an interesting piece of information. "You're not getting this back until I know what it says. ALL of it." Dipper grimaced as that, considering his options for a second before, with great reluctance, pulling the key to his personal code out of his vest pocket and handing it over to the girl. He watched with trepidation as her eyes flashed back and forward from the key to the book in her hand, mouth moving silently to each letter as the coded message slowly became clearer.

After getting to the end of the message, the girl looked visibly baffled for a moment before going back and rereading the whole thing again. Dipper cringed and sank a little deeper into his seat, hoping the earth would take pity on him and swallow him whole. Sadly, this didn't happen and so he was forced to watch as the truth behind his 'coded message sank into the half-ghost girl's mind and she began to giggle uncontrollably. She tried to hide it at first, but it wasn't long before she was doubled over and crying from laugher, loud and unapologetic as she cracked up. Dipper could feel the curious eyes of the other patrons on him as the half ghost practically rolled around on the floor, and it made him long desperately for the invisibility spell he'd read about back in Gravity Falls.

"Oh my god." The ghost girl said, wiping away at her tears. "Oh my god, that's the corniest thing I've ever read in my entire life."

"I wasn't expecting you to read it." Dipper muttered, his face burning red as he studied his placemat, unable to bear the humiliation of looking the girl across form him in the eye. His staring match with the restaurant's logo was suspended when his journal suddenly slid into view. Slightly surprised, Dipper looked back up again, questioning eyes meeting his companion's easy grin.

"Here." She said. "Take it. Though I would like a copy of that poem, if you don't mind."

"It was just random scribbling." Dipper insisted, hastily hiding his journal back in his pocket before the half ghost changed her mind. "I do it when I get bored. It's not like- I mean, I didn't mean-!"

"Relax." The half ghost chuckled, giving Dipper a lopsided grin. "You've officially gone from 'annoying potential threat' to 'dweeby dork who's actually kinda funny' trust me, that's a step up."

"Doesn't sound like one." Dipper groused, though he couldn't stop the relieved smile from stealing across his face.

She thought he was funny?

"So then, Dipper right?" the girl asked, though she didn't wait for his confirmation before continuing. "You got your journal back, so you're gonna keep your end or our deal and erase that video, right?"

"Video?" Dipper repeated in confusion, before remembering their bargain in the alley, "Oh, the video! Right, I'll just, um, I'll just go ahead and do that right now." Dipper agreed, hastily digging out his phone and opening his video files. Before he could do anything else, though, the phone was snatched from his hands. "HEY!"

The half ghost ignored Dipper's shout of protest as she began to leaf through his phone, studying the files with an arched eyebrow.

"I'm not seeing anything in here from the other night." She said conversationally, glancing up from the phone to give Dipper the same look he got when she cornered him in the alley. On the surface, she looked calm, but one look in her eyes was enough to see that she was not a threat to be taken lightly.

"I… um…" Crap. "Okay, so my video camera got busted before you even showed up, and I didn't actually get anything of you fighting. I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have lied, but you were gonna torch my notes and I just freaked and-!"

"You talk too much when you think someone's gonna kill you." The girl noticed with an amused smile.

"Stalls for time. Gives me time to think. Keeps me from panicking and getting myself killed faster."

"You sound like Danny." The girl said with a laugh. "That's exactly what he told me when I asked him why he always makes those stupid puns when he fights."

"Danny Phantom?" That was a comparison he'd never gotten before. Part of Dipper felt pleased at the comparison to the world famous superhero. "You really think I'm like him?"

"Well, you're kinda like how he acts when he's being dorky and embarrassing." The girl grinned as Dipper winced. "He's different sometimes too though. Stronger, you know? I don't see the appeal myself, but he really likes the whole hero thing and helping others and all that junk."

"How long have you known him?" Dipper asked. Unfortunately, that was when the waitress returned with their food, setting the plates in front of them with a chirpy 'Please Enjoy!' before sweeping away to the next table.

"A few years." The girl answered vaguely as she munched on a fry. "He kept an eye on me a lot when I was a kid. Watched my back, you know? I'd be dead right now if it wasn't for him, to tell you the truth." Dipper was tempted to ask where her powers had come from and how long she'd had them, but figured she probably wouldn't answer, and might get upset if he asked.

"What about your dad?" He asked instead, "You said he was a scientist, right? How does he feel about you being a half ghost? I mean, he does know, right?" The blue eyed teen went deathly still at the question, making Dipper panic slightly. Crap, he didn't push too far, did he? "You don't have to answer if you don't want to! I was just curious! Sorry, I didn't mean to pry!" The girl frowned silently for a minute, and Dipper could tell she was upset.

Crap.

"You have a lot of videos of some girl in here." The dark haired girl said, motioning to his phone. "The sister you mentioned earlier?"

"My twin, Mabel." Dipper confirmed.

"You two seem close." She observed.

"Yeah well, we've been through a lot together, you know? She's my best friend just as much as she's my sister. Not that I have all that many friends to begin with, but…"

"I'm sure you have more than me." The girl scoffed with a rueful grin.

"Really?" Dipper feigned surprised. "Wow, you'd think that more people would like someone who viciously attacked people in alleyways."

"Same for creepy stalkers who write cheesy love poems in code." The half ghost shot back.

"It wasn't a love-!" Dipper started to protest, only to trail off at the sight of her playful grin.

Wait.

Were they flirting just now?

…Oh man, they _were_. He was totally flirting with a half ghost.

"Anyways, thanks for lunch but I'd better get back to tracking down that ghost." The girl said, standing up. Dipper jolted out of his revelation at her words, glancing down at their plates to find that his companion had already polished off all her food. And though he hadn't touched anything on his plate, somehow his fries had all managed to disappear. "And as fun as this was, if I ever catch you following me around without permission again, I'm going to make sure you regret it for the rest of your life, got it?"

"…Uh," Crap. Dipper really wasn't sure how to talk to her anymore, now that he was aware of the fact that he was attracted to her. The half ghost girl didn't seem that bothered by his lack of a response though, casually tossing his phone back to him and causing Dipper to fumble with it to keep it from hitting the ground. By the time he finally got a secure hold on it and looked up again, the girl had vanished without a trace.

Disappointment swelled in Dipper, though he tried to keep it at bay. What else could he possibly have expected from a girl like that, anyways? She wasn't really going to be interested in a dork like him. Sighing silently, Dipper opened up his contacts to call his sister and tell her that he wasn't in any danger after all before she came bursting in waving around her grappling hook. As he scrolled down to find his sister's name though, a new contact caught his eye, making him stop dead in his tracks as he stared, stunned, at the playfully smirking picture the half ghost girl had taken on the sly when she had apparently added herself into his phone. A grin stole it's way across Dipper's face as he studied the photo, which only grew when his phone beeped to announce an incoming text message from the selfsame hybrid.

_Next time you wanna hang out try asking first instead of creeping around like a weirdo._

Dipper's grin threatened to split his face in two at that.

_Dani, huh?_ Dipper thought as he pulled up his sister's number to give her a call, trying to control the excitement that was already starting to bubble up at the promise that he'd see the strange half ghost girl again.

Mabel was going to freak when she heard about this…


	3. The Sister with the Stubborn Streak

**Sister with a Stubborn Streak**

Mabel Pines was almost like the female Peter Pan; an eternally youthful spirit who seemed nearly immune to the flow of time, with an unfettered imagination that Dipper really couldn't help but envy sometimes. He might've been more successful academically then his twin sister, but Dipper always felt that Mabel was better at just being then he was. She was comfortable in her own skin even when there were others pressuring her to conform (to a point where sometimes Dipper felt embarrassed being related to her), aware of her strengths and weaknesses, and unafraid of saying what needed to be said. Dipper really admired that about his twin.

At least when she wasn't using those trait to try to hassle him, anyways.

"I can't BELIEVE you actually asked her out on a date! And you only stalked her for, like, two days before you got the nerve to talk to her! Go Sir Dippingsauce!" Mabel's grin stretched ear to ear as she slung an arm over her brother's shoulder, her long chestnut hair forming a makeshift barrier between them and the rest of the world as she leaned over so she and Dipper were nearly nose to nose. "Soooo? What are the details? Felicity said you two looked real chummy over lunch~!" Ah. Felicity. So that was the name of the blonde waitress from the diner.

"There are no details." Dipper grumbled with a blush as he fought to free himself from the clutches of his twin. "She caught me following her and told me to stop."

His euphoria over getting Dani's phone number had faded in the half hour it took him to get from the diner back to his home. And not long after it took its leave, Insecurity came back to make itself comfortably at home in Dipper's subconscious, bringing its dear old friends Paranoia and Degradation. By the time Dipper had reached his front door, he had nearly convinced himself that he'd only make an idiot of himself if he tried to pursue any kind of relationship with the half-ghost girl and that he was better off deleting her number before he embarrassed himself in some lame attempt to impress her. Unfortunately, his twin managed to attack him before he could do anything of the sort.

"But she still said yes when you asked her to lunch, right? That's a good sign!" Mabel assured Dipper, letting him go to stand in front of him and giving the taller brunet some much needed space.

"Actually, I never asked her anywhere. She pretty much made me have lunch with her, or else she would have torched my journal." Dipper confessed awkwardly, feeling more and more pessimistic about his chances the more he considered these details about the day's encounter.

"So she asked you out then? Even better!" Mabel squealed excitedly, apparently ecstatic at this news. "And you even got her number!" How Mabel could have possibly learned that Dipper didn't have a clue, but he knew better than to try and lie to his twin.

"It wasn't like that, okay?" Dipper said instead in exasperation. "The only reason Dani asked me to lunch with her is because I tricked her into thinking that I had a video of her transforming. I was just trying to get my journal back from her without making her even angrier than she already was. So really, it wasn't a date so much as it was a Mexican Standoff."

"And yet you have your journal, and the ghost girl's number and she didn't get jack squat from your little exchange." Mabel pointed out slyly. Dipper's cheeks burned red at that but he didn't reply verbally, causing Mabel to give a half-hearted groan. "Come on, Dipper, you've been all goo-goo eyes over this girl ever since she saved you from that ghost. Why won't you just let yourself be happy that she's interested in you, too?"

"I wasn't goo-goo eyed, I just thought it was cool that there is another half ghost out there besides Danny Phantom and Vlad Masters. And what guarantee do you have that she's actually interested in me, anyways?" Dipper asked, frustration and fear coloring his tone. "What if I'm the only one interested, and I start making a big deal about something that's not really anything? I don't want to get my hopes up just to have everything blow up in my face. I'm not putting myself through that again."

"Dipper, come on. It wasn't your fault that things didn't work out with Kelly. And if you're going to quit without even trying, then you might end up missing out on something great! Nothing good can ever been obtained without a little risk, you know." Mabel said, unusually solemn and insightful.

"I just don't think I want to take that kind of risk right now, Mabel. Especially not with a superhero." Dipper said with a quiet sigh. "I mean, what kind of shot do I really have with a girl like that, anyways?"

"If she has half a brain, then she probably already knows that you're a fantastic guy who any girl would be lucky to have." Mabel responded sternly, frowning at her brother's self-degrading words. "You're crazy smart, and super brave and you're really sweet and sensitive to boot. You'd make any girl smart enough to give you a chance incredibly happy."

"Look, Mabel, I know you're trying to make me feel better and I really appreciate it, but let's be real here. I mean, she's this incredibly beautiful girl who's strong and has all these amazing powers and gets to fly around saving people all the time, and I'm..." trailing off, Dipper gave a frustrated sigh, combing a hand through his hair. "I'm just the loser who got in over his head when he was twelve and only fixed things through sheer dumb luck. I thought maybe that meant something, that it was a sign or something, you know? But I haven't been involved in anything really supernatural like that since then, until she showed up. Maybe... maybe I'm just trying to be part of all of that again. And maybe I'm not really meant to be."

"Do me a favor, Dipper. Put the supernatural stuff aside for like, two seconds. Same for her powers and all that other funky goodness. Just answer me this one question; Do you like this girl?"

"Mabel, I don't think-"

"Dipper, yes or no." Mabel glared, not giving her brother the chance to make another excuse. Dipper sighed in defeat.

"Yes." He answered, sounding very unhappy about this fact.

"Then call her. Ask her to hang out. Show her the cool scar you got fighting Bill. Because all that other stuff doesn't matter nearly as much as you think it does, Dipper." Dipper didn't say anything to that, too busy reliving the last time he had put himself out there for a girl. Mabel apparently read his mind however, and gave him a cutting look. "This isn't like Kelly, Dipper. You can't let yourself start thinking that the only reason a girl would be interested in you is because they're using you for something."

"Yeah, that's great and everything, except the only time in my life that I didn't get the 'let's just be friends' speech was when a girl needed me to bump up her grades." Dipper reminded his twin. "I just think that maybe I'm better off not getting my hopes up this time and just assume straight off that she only wants to be friends instead of thinking that maybe I actually have a shot. You can't be disappointed if you don't have any expectations, after all." Mabel didn't look at all pleased with her brother's logic, but a shout from their mother in the next room over robbed her of the chance to argue her point any further.

"Dipper? Can you come here and help me with something, sweetie?"

"Sure thing, Mom!" Dipper called back, sweeping past his sister and into the kitchen where the call had originated from. Mabel frowned to herself as she watched him go before pulling out the cell phone she had pilfered from her brother while hugging him. She had only meant to taunt him with it when she had taken it, but had gotten so caught up with in trying to convince her twin of his own self worth that she had completely forgotten her original intention.

It didn't sit right with her at all that Dipper was so certain that he'd fail that he wouldn't even take a chance. She knew Dipper was a great guy who was just misunderstood by most of their peers. And she knew that her brother deserved a happy relationship with someone he liked, and that there was someone out there somewhere who could give her twin just that.

And if that person was this phantom femme fatale, then there was no way she was going to sit by and let Dipper mess this up.

Determination swelled inside Mabel as she powered on her brother's phone and entered his password, scrolling down his contact list until she found the only one she didn't recognize. Selecting the number, Mabel typed up a text asking the girl to meet up with her tomorrow at a cafe not far from the retail store she worked at right around when she'd be taking her lunch break.

Hitting send, Mabel waited anxiously for five minutes, holding her breath every time she heard her brother's voice in the next room as she prayed that her ruse would work. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief when Dipper's phone announced a new text from the ghost girl, agreeing to come. Grinning, Mabel deleted both her text and the girl's reply and set her brother's phone on the coffee table in the living room, feeling greatly satisfied with herself.

Matchmaker Mabel was back in business.

* * *

><p><strong>Words from the Dragon;<strong>

I have a confession to make; I have almost _no idea_ where I'm going with this story.

Right from the start, Nerd With a Notebook was about 90% impulsive babbling and 10% funny mental images. And honestly, I almost never do anything like this anymore. Every story I write usually has to have an outline, a clearly started beginning, middle and end where I'm just basically filling in the blanks between point A to point B, then on to Point C and so on and so forth until I get to Z. It's a little weird flying blind like this, but refreshing at the same time. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite stories to write, because I feel a little more free to just do whatever here without worrying about where it'll end up.

Doing this can be a little daunting though, since as I mention this really isn't something I've done in years when it comes to a multi-chapter story. So I want to take a minute to thank everyone who responded to this story, especially the ones who leave reviews. I'm really grateful to everyone who took the time to tell me what they think of my story, since it gives me the boost in confidence I need to continue working on it rather than letting it fall to the wayside. I know this chapter was a little bland, but I kind of wanted to explore a little of the insecurity we've seen from Dipper now and then in the show, and how that might affect him in the future. Especially when it comes to romance. Mabel, for all she teases him, is also Dipper's biggest cheerleader and President/Founder of the Dipper Pines is Awesome and Anyone Who Thinks Otherwise Can Jump Into A Lake Club. And therefore will NOT let this tragedy unfold. Her Bro-bro's gonna get a hot date, even if she's gotta kidnap someone, dangit!

Next Chapter is where Dani and Mabel meet for the first time, which is all kinds of crazy fun. Please look forward to it!

**Big Thanks for Reviewing;**

EveryRoseHasTheirThorns, IWasNeverReal, Hybridkylin, OMAC001, Ninuhuju, and Funkatron

See you all next chapter!


End file.
